Stablecoin Series EP1 — The $317B Stablecoin Market Has Already Surpassed Visa
W Insights · Stablecoin 5-Part Series EP1 · May 9, 2026 · 21:11 KST
The stablecoin market is no longer crypto’s fringe. With $317B in market cap and $33T in 2025 volume — surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined — it has become a digital dollar infrastructure that Korean payment firms are now joining.
- Market scale. The stablecoin market reached $317B in market cap by May 2026 — roughly 4x the market cap of Korea’s largest commercial bank, KB Kookmin.
- Volume surge. $33T in 2025 on-chain volume single-handedly exceeded Visa (~$15T) and Mastercard (~$9T) combined.
- Duopoly. Tether’s USDT (62%) and Circle’s USDC (26%) hold 88% of supply; PYUSD, DAI, FDUSD divide the rest.
- Korea enters. Danal and Shinhan Bank completed a Korea-Japan USDC remittance PoC. KakaoPay, NHN KCP, and Lotte Card are evaluating pilot programs.
- Regulation accelerates. The U.S. GENIUS Act and EU MiCA elevate stablecoins from “experimental asset” to “payment infrastructure.”
In February 2026, Korean payment firm Danal partnered with Shinhan Bank to send USDC directly to a Japanese corporate counterparty — a successful proof of concept. Results were striking: fees were cut by nearly 90% versus SWIFT, and what used to take days settled in minutes. The epicenter of this shift is the stablecoin market. Visa has integrated USDC settlement into its rails, and Mastercard reportedly acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Zerohash for ~$1.4B. Calling this a crypto sideshow no longer fits.
1. What is the Stablecoin Market? — A 5-Second Definition
A stablecoin is a digital asset designed to hold a 1-to-1 peg with the U.S. dollar. The issuer holds $1 in short-term Treasuries or cash for every token minted — effectively, a “digital dollar receipt” that lives on a blockchain. While Bitcoin is a volatile speculative asset, the stablecoin market exists for the opposite reason: a payment medium whose price does not move.
Why has the stablecoin market grown so fast? It runs 24/7/365, ignores borders, charges almost zero fees, and settles in minutes. Compare this to SWIFT wires, which take 2–5 business days and stack 4–7% in FX and intermediary fees. A stablecoin transfer settles in minutes for under 0.1%. For exporters, freelancers, and global e-commerce operators, that’s a generational change.
Why are they all pegged to the dollar?
Over 99% of the stablecoin market is dollar-pegged. This is not a coincidence: 88% of global trade is invoiced in dollars, and 58% of FX reserves are dollar-denominated. If a digital payment layer is going to be built, it is going to be built in dollars. Counterintuitively, this structure strengthens U.S. dollar hegemony — which is why the U.S. Treasury both regulates and protects stablecoin issuers.
2. $33T in Volume — A Digital Rail Bigger Than Visa
The clearest measure of the stablecoin market’s scale is volume. In 2025, on-chain stablecoin volume reached approximately $33T. Visa processed about $15T that year; Mastercard, about $9T. Stablecoins moved more value than the two largest card networks combined.
To be fair, this figure includes exchange-to-exchange flows, MEV bot traffic, and algorithmic trading — it isn’t all “real payments.” Visa’s own conservative estimate puts genuine person-to-business volume at $9–12T, which still places stablecoins in the same league as a single major card network. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) labeled stablecoins “non-bank monetary infrastructure” in its 2024 report — formally acknowledging them as a new pillar of global finance.
3. USDT vs USDC — Who Actually Runs the Stablecoin Market
The stablecoin market is essentially a duopoly. Tether’s USDT leads with ~62% share and a $196B market cap. Circle’s USDC sits at ~26% and $82B. Together, 88%. The remainder splits across PYUSD (PayPal), DAI (MakerDAO), FDUSD (First Digital), and USDe (Ethena).
Despite both being “digital dollars,” they serve different worlds. USDT dominates emerging markets — Vietnam, Turkey, Argentina — where local currencies are unstable. There, USDT functions as an unofficial dollar bank account. USDC, by contrast, embraced U.S. regulation head-on. Circle listed on the NYSE in 2024; BlackRock and Goldman Sachs are key partners. When Visa integrated a stablecoin into its settlement rails, it picked USDC.
Why is the duopoly so durable?
Stablecoins are fundamentally a trust product. Holding the peg means actually holding the dollars. USDT and USDC dominate because both have survived years of “bank run simulations” — and that track record is exactly what newcomers cannot replicate quickly. The exception worth watching: PayPal’s PYUSD crossed $5B in market cap in late 2025, hinting at a possible third pole.
4. Korea Is Moving — Danal, Shinhan, KakaoPay
Korea was a latecomer to the stablecoin market. The Specified Financial Transactions Act prevented domestic payment firms from issuing tokens or settling payments with them. That changed sharply in late 2025. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) released draft guidelines for won-pegged stablecoin issuance, and Shinhan, Woori, and Hana Bank reportedly began evaluating in-house issuance.
Danal moved fastest. In February 2026, its USDC PoC with Shinhan Bank became the first instance of a Korean payment firm sending stablecoins directly to a foreign corporate counterparty. The 90% fee reduction and minute-level settlement have accelerated decision-making at major banks. KakaoPay, NHN KCP, and Lotte Card are studying pilots; launches are expected in H2 2026.
According to DIR’s May 9, 2026 daily report, the same week saw BlackRock prepare two stablecoin-backed tokenized money market funds, and Kraken file for an OCC national trust charter. Global asset managers and exchanges are formally embedding into stablecoin infrastructure. The Korean market can no longer afford to wait.
“Stablecoins are no longer an experimental asset — they are non-bank monetary infrastructure. A new pillar of the global financial system.”
Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 2024 report
5. The 5-Part Series Roadmap — What’s Next
This EP1 was the macro answer to “what is the stablecoin market” and “why now.” The next four episodes go deeper.
- EP2 — How They Work. How does $1 stay $1? Collateral, mint/burn, reserves, and the lessons of the UST/Terra collapse.
- EP3 — The Big Bang: GENIUS Act & MiCA. How U.S. and EU regulation reshaped the stablecoin market: licensing, 100% reserve mandates, supervisory architecture.
- EP4 — Korea’s Path. Is a won-pegged stablecoin viable? The strategies of Danal, Shinhan, and KakaoPay, and Korea-specific scenarios.
- EP5 — The $2T Future. 2030 forecasts and investment angles. Tokenized RWA, CBDC competition vs. coexistence, real-economy integration.
Conclusion — The Digital Dollar Era Is Already Here
As of 2026, the stablecoin market has outgrown the “crypto” label entirely. $317B in market cap, $33T in volume, two issuers controlling 88% — these are the numbers of a mature industry. The fact that Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Danal, and Shinhan are all racing to enter proves that this is no longer “tomorrow’s story.” EP2 will dissect exactly how this digital dollar works — how a $1 token actually stays at $1.
